Rose’s climb such an incentive for good pal Poulter

It wasn't just the quality of their play that has remained in the mind's eye; it was the manner in which they played. They were like two pals having a social match for a fiver, cajoling and ribbing each other.

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Rose ended up winning it but it was Poulter who led the applause. It was golf forged from friendship and respect and how the thousands who watched them that day loved it.

Needless to say you hoped there would be more such duels on still bigger stages but, of course, they went backwards, not up. Neither was good enough to play in the Masters last year, never mind contest for the green jacket.

Now look at them, racing each other up the world rankings. In his last three American majors Poulter has finished 12th, ninth, and 13th. Rose was one stroke off the lead with two holes to play at the Masters in April.

A runner-up finish in the PGA Championship at Wentworth last month took Rose past his mate and into the world's top 20.

"Of course I'm pleased that Justin is up to 19th," Poulter, 30th, said with a mischievous look. "But don't think it hasn't been noted, that it isn't acting as a tidy incentive."

Never underestimate the little friendly rivalries going on throughout the sport. There's Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia vying with each other to be the first to win a major; Geoff Ogilvy and Adam Scott winding each other up in the grandest arenas. Rose and Poulter come to the U.S. Open in the form of their lives.

The former believes he is thankfully over his recent back problems and will be playing pain-free for the first time since February; Poulter has already made nearly $1 million in the U.S. this year and this is his sort of course. His garb might be flash but he's at his best when the golf required is conservative.

Poulter arrived at Oakmont 10 days ago and played nine holes with another early bird, Tiger Woods. "It was instructive to watch him at work, the time he spent on the greens figuring out where the pin locations would be and where it would be acceptable to miss the target," he said.

The following day he played with Rose before the two flew back to Orlando, where they have homes just walking distance from one another, to work on the shots they will need.

ROSE'S spectacular re-emergence over the past nine months has not gone unnoticed in America, where he is the subject of a long piece in this month's Golf Digest.

He talks of the belief instilled in him by his new brash coach Nick Bradley, who certainly doesn't suffer from a lack of self-regard.

"I've given myself mental permission to become the best golf coach in the world," he said, a statement that would ordinarily see him laughed out of court but for his work with Rose.

Each week Bradley prepares 200-word documents that spell out exactly what Rose should focus on. "This week it's all about patience and having the right attitude," Rose said. "I like having somebody I can talk with about everything that happened on the course that day, to analyse it and see what we achieved and what we can try for tomorrow."

Three double bogeys did for Rose on the final day at Augusta and he knows the key for him here is to keep the big numbers off his card.

"Everyone is going to make mistakes but no double bogeys is a smart plan for surviving at Oakmont," he said.

Poulter admits he struggled for a long time with his patience, his short fuse frequently getting the better of him.

"I never like to think negatively and I couldn't even contemplate what I would have shot at Oakmont five years ago," he laughs. "But I believe I've acquired the sense of humour you need to do well on this type of course. I played with the winner, Geoff Ogilvy, in the final round last year and that was a good lesson in the value of staying calm and hanging around. And I couldn't be better prepared."

Poulter starts with his eyes set firmly on the main prize. But he'd regard it as a decent consolation if he did well enough to end up standing in 18th place in the world.